SAN BERNARDINO >> The relief city officials felt when a federal judge granted them bankruptcy protection on Wednesday didn’t last long before that same judge and many of their constituents asked a pressing question: Now what?

Now, they’re in a 45-day race to come up with a rough draft of a plan to start satisfying the city’s creditors and balancing a budget that currently is only “balanced” by not paying much of what is owed.

While U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Meredith Jury didn’t order that timeline, her suggestion carries particular weight because the California Public Employees’ Retirement System had alleged that the city was in bankruptcy court for the purpose of delay — and therefore should be ineligible for Chapter 9 protection — and she told the city’s bankruptcy attorney the timeline he proposed seemed unreasonably slow.

Many of the policy-makers who attended the court hearing in Riverside say they feel a sense of urgency as well as the knowledge that painful cuts will likely be part of the city’s longterm plan.

“The important work, the heavy lifting, starts now on this matter of our bankruptcy,” Mayor Pat Morris said Thursday, “because we have to come up with a plan of adjustment, and the judge has made clear that she wants this done sooner than later.”

The city manager and financial consultants are working on a plan now and should have that rough draft complete in about 45 days, he said, although much of the information needed for it will have to be estimated because specifics aren’t available to the city.

Morris and a few other officials agree on some outlines of that plan: It will be painful, it should be negotiated with creditors and hopefully pay them all of what they’re owed, and it must be focused on rebuilding for the future.

But Councilwoman Wendy McCammack said she was worried by the lack of signs of progress on the plan.

“I spent all night last night awake thinking about how the plan needs to be constructed,” McCammack said Thursday. “I think the council has a responsibility to follow the mayor’s lead in conjunction with the city manager and the finance team to understand exactly what the total of the debts are, figure out the best way to structure that repayment of that debt while maintaining basic city services. That’s the framework in my head, and I know that is a very complicated process.”

McCammack, who’s running for mayor, says Morris is responsible for creating that plan and thought he had done more, but she would work on a framework “in parallel.”

“I think the mayor needs to take the bull by the horns, provide a plan for the council, and let’s have some conversation,” she said.

Morris said he was tired of hearing McCammack place the blame for budgets on him because it is council members who vote on whether to approve them.

“I will work with the council and the city manager,” he said. “The city manager is working on it right now with Michael Busch of Urban Futures and our (chief financial officer). They will bring forward the plan. But what comes to the judge in the mediation will be a plan adopted by the council, not by the mayor.”

Meanwhile, Councilwoman Virginia Marquez emphasized that elected officials are only part of the discussion.

“(Wednesday’s) ruling was historical in nature, but it’s only the first step,” Marquez said. “The key is to have the constituents involved in deciding what is the next step.”

Marquez said she will update people in her ward, the 1st, through community meetings and will speak often with city administrators to keep communication open.

The early plan to present to the mediator will be followed by what Marquez thinks will be 12 to 18 months of forming a plan she expects will be extremely challenging.

“It’s going to be a long, painful process because I believe there will be some inevitable cuts,” she said. “We have to start living within our own means, and we haven’t been doing that for many, many years now.”

She said she would see which services constituents thought were most vital but that cuts could include popular parks, libraries and community centers.

Morris said the 10-year forecast the city must adopt involves complex calculations, but in some ways is simpler.

“We have to continue to make cuts in areas where most of our money flows — and that’s going to be probably in public safety,” he said. “You either cut the compensation packages or you cut the number of people in your employ. It’s not rocket science on how to get savings.”

Unions representing police and firefighters are seeking the bankruptcy court’s permission to sue over contracts imposed in January that cut take-home pay by nearly 14 percent, although separate raises required by the city charter soften that blow.

It would be short-sighted to only work on satisfying creditors without thinking about how to increase the city’s revenue base long-term, said Councilman Chas Kelley, another mayoral candidate.

“Specifically, the city needs to be able to multi-task,” he said. “We need to be able to work on the court-ordered plan of adjustment, and we must and shall develop an economic strategic plan for the longterm economic health of the city.”

Ryan Hagen covers the city of Riverside for the Southern California Newspaper Group. Since he began covering Inland Empire governments in 2010, he's written about a city entering bankruptcy and exiting bankruptcy; politicians being elected, recalled and arrested; crime; a terrorist attack; fires; ICE; fights to end homelessness; fights over the location of speed bumps; and people's best and worst moments. His greatest accomplishment is breaking a coffee addiction. His greatest regret is any moment without coffee.